Once Upon a Katamari is a wonderfully charming return to form for the ball-rolling series that is unlike anything else. The new gameplay elements don’t distract from the satisfying core loop, the time-travel theme brings lots of pleasant humor, and the characters are as delightfully quirky as ever. This is simply some top-notch Katamari.
Once Upon a Katamari
Developer: RENGAME
Price: $40
Platform: PS5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
MonsterVine was supplied with a PS5 code for review.
Who doesn’t love the Katamari series? Rolling up a variety of themed objects to create new planets is such a bizarre idea that it truly stands out amongst any peers in the gaming industry, though more recent games in the series have become a bit bogged down in gimmicks. Luckily, there’s no such issue with Once Upon a Katamari, which brings the series back to its weird and wacky roots.
Right off the bat, I was captured by Once Upon a Katamari’s setting. This entry has you traveling through time to once again rebuild the stars after the King of All Cosmos does his usual thing. To do this, you travel across time from places like Ancient Greece to the Stone Age. This wide range of environments and locales provides the game with plenty of opportunities for comedy and creative objectives, which are absolutely highlights of the game.
As you might already expect, the main rolling-based gameplay is as fun as it’s ever been. There are two control schemes this time around, meaning you can play with the classic dual-stick scheme or a more modernized and simpler scheme, which should be handy for new fans who aren’t used to the somewhat awkward-at-first control scheme. Making your katamari bigger and bigger feels great and is satisfying in a way that is a bit hard to describe – it’s like the dopamine release that comes with cleaning combined with the satisfaction of collection.
Once Upon a Katamari does have some new additions to the gameplay.
The primary new mechanic that comes in Once Upon a Katamari is through power-ups, which range from a magnet that attracts all nearby rollable items to a radar that shows you where to find other playable cousins and collectibles. You collect power-ups around each stage, technically even making them optional. I found that most of them added to the experience, though they also made some stages just a bit too easy at times. Regardless, they never impede the main gameplay loop, making them a completely acceptable addition in my books.
There’s an additional incentive to replay levels throughout the game, too, with different pieces of clothing and accessories to find to decorate your character with. There are also crowns to collect to proceed further in the story, and plenty of crazy cousins to find and play as. I also enjoyed making my own character, which was, naturally, a Katamari version of Sonic the Hedgehog.
The little story snippets you get in between stages are as goofy as it gets, filled with moments that show the King of All Cosmos being both awful and badass, as he should be. There are also segments that show the Queen of All Cosmos’ own wacky adventures, which are just as delightful. These small narrative snippets are a great reward for completing levels, adding more character to the Prince’s crazy parents.
Once Upon a Katamari is vividly colorful, bringing the different eras it explores to life with all sorts of crazy designs. Seeing strange kappa people on pirate ships or a man in a dinosaur costume with a blank expression among actual dinosaurs adds some goofy comedy to the mix, creating a uniquely silly experience. And what would a Katamari game be without excellent music? So many of the levels’ tunes wormed their way into my head, feeling perfectly suited to the environments and the creative chaos that was constantly unfolding across each one.
The Final Word
Once Upon a Katamari is a brilliant new entry in the long-rolling Katamari series that I think anyone could find enjoyment in. The time travel theme and creative stages are an absolute blast to partake in, while the story is just as weird and silly as ever. If you’ve been wanting to see the Katamari series come back to its foundations with just a little extra on the side, then you need to play Once Upon a Katamari as soon as possible.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
